Martinu, Bohuslav. (1890-1959)
Signed Photograph with Autograph Musical Quotation, "La Bagarre."
A rare original matte postcard photograph by Vanek of Prague, signed and with an AMQS dated Prague, 1933 on the mount. The musical quotation is from Martinu's orchestral work, "La Bagarre." In very fine condition, 25 x 15.5 cm."La Bagarre" (The Tumult), was written in 1926 in Paris and was first performed by Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in November, 1927. The work is dedicated to Charles Lindbergh and in the programme of the Boston premiere, Martinu wrote: "La Bagarre is full of movement, verve, uproar, and pressure. It is a great masses' movement in a forced, unmanageable run. I have dedicated the composition to Lindbergh's landing in Bourget: it well represents my imagination, as well as it clearly sets its goal and development. In Half-Time, the symphonic rondo, I tried to capture the tension of the audience of a football match. The subject of La Bagarre is basically very similar, yet still multiplied and taken out to the street. It is a delirious boulevard, stadium, mass, multitude, dressed in the same way. It is chaos, dominated by a shared sentiment, an invisible tie that moves everything forward and creates one identical mass, full of unexpected, uncontrollable elements. It is strongly contrapuntal in character. All interests, big and small are left aside. At the same time, they merge in a new composition, a new strength, and a new face of powerful, invincible human mass. La Bagarre, however, is not a descriptive music. It is subject to the rules of composition; it possesses its own motif, the same as the human mass has its motif of ecstasy, which directs the movement. La Bagarre is, actually, a triptych: its central movement, usually relaxed, is replaced by a faster tempo than that of the first and third part, and concludes with a forceful Coda (Presto)." (5196)
AMQS Classical Music